


A Loose Thread

by elstar1



Category: SECHSKIES (Band)
Genre: Developing Friendships, Gen, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-19 04:20:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17594504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elstar1/pseuds/elstar1
Summary: Two strangers meet under a bad first impression.One meeting leads to another and turns out, they have a similarity.Of mending broken-hearts and finding solace in a kindred spirit.





	A Loose Thread

Jaeduck runs through the street, carrying the guitar on his back. He's about to be late, and he couldn't bear thinking on how Jiwon will nag him for that (though the man himself has been consistently late in the 8 years they known each other). Somehow, the night before their big gig, he needed to stay back at work.  
He's about to turn into a corner when out of nowhere, a man in a knitted sweater comes out of the door at the last shop of the row, and he could not brake.  
He crashes right into the unsuspecting guy, but luckily, he’s sturdy enough to keep them both from falling.  
“Hey, watch it!” The guy said.  
“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t managed to stop,” Jaeduck bows his head apologetically.  
The man just huffs and keeps his stoic face.  
Jaeduck gets a bit irked at that, “Well, you could have dodged too, or watch before you exit.”  
He watches in slight satisfaction as the other guy’s eyes grow bigger in anger.  
“Wh... you...”  
At that moment, Jaeduck’s phone rings.  
“Ah, Jiwon-hyung, yeah, yeah, I’m close… no… I mean…” he proceeds to just continue his run, leaving the guy flustered.  
Jaeduck is about to enter the studio when he felt a tug on his belt.  
“What the?” He looks down to find that a single thread is hooked one of the belt studs.  
And the thread gets tauter.

*******************************************************************************************************  
Suwon feels so insulted. How dare that guy blamed him, when he was the one who bumped into him! And to run off in the middle of their conversation, not giving him the chance for rebuttal, the audacity!  
He takes a deep breathe, lightly fixed his sweater and decides that he will not let that encounter ruins his beautiful day. He’s meeting someone dear today, after years of lost contact. So, he strolls down the path happily, unaware of the unravelling sweater.

*********************************************************************************************************  
As if he’s under a spell, Jaeduck holds the thread, following where it leads him. Never mind what Jiwon would say, but for now, curiosity gets the best of him. He turns into the corner where the collision happened. Across the street, he sees the back of the man he crashed into, walking further away from him, and they are both linked by that thread.  
Jaeduck was about to call for him, but suddenly a car passes through the road and the thread get caught by it. Jaeduck lets go of the thread and sees the other guy spinning and getting pulled closer to the road. Right before he gets to the road, the sweater finally loosen up and becomes a bundle of yarn, and the guy stands there, dumbfounded and topless.

********************************************************************************************************  
A realisation hits Jaeduck. ‘That was, his sweater that got stuck on me, did… did I cause this??’  
The both of them are standing across each other, just staring in a state of shock. A plastic bag blows by on the street. Jaeduck gives an awkward wave.

At that moment, his phone rings again, and of course, it’s Jiwon.  
Jiwon screams at the end of the line, “Yaah Kim Jaeduck?? Where are you?!”  
Jaeduck holds his phone away from his ear, before quickly says, “Sorry hyung, I'm gonna be late, I accidentally made this dude's shirt disappear!!!”  
“The fu…” Jiwon did not manage to rant on as Jaeduck hangs up.  
He looks over to the left and right of the road before crossing.  
He approaches the half-naked guy cautiously. Jaeduck looks at him, trying to say something but could not, so he looks down at the pile of thread and then back at him.  
He gulps before saying, “This is your shirt.” Okay, admittedly that didn’t need to be said but hey, he had to say something.  
A look of disbelief flashes on the guy’s face as he slowly answers, “I... know.”  
"I mean, I… I guess it didn't feel so good? Ahahaha…” The moment he said that Jaeduck feels like giving himself a slap on the face. ‘Why am I so lame?? Jiwon-hyung would’ve called me out on that and curses at me.’  
There was a brief pause.  
Jaeduck was about to apologise when the guy starts to chuckle.  
“I guess it didn’t, hahaha,” his laugh puts Jaeduck at ease.

*********************************************************************************************************  
Suwon suddenly realises the state he is in. He feels conscious and cross his arms over his body, to cover some part of his chest and abs.  
The smaller guy notices that and begins to put down his backpack, trying to look for something. He then takes out a black t-shirt and hands it to him.  
The black t-shirt is written with the word ‘ _Silverkey_ ’ at the front and the back. There is a big skull at the back of it, with some design. Suwon sighs and proceeds to put on the shirt.  
The other guy stands there, shifting uncomfortably.  
“Sorry about that, I usually wear layers of clothes, but right now, all I have on are this leather jacket and tank top.” He slightly shrugs off the jacket over his fair body clad in a tank top.  
“Hey, this is better than nothing, so, thanks,” Suwon smiles warmly.  
“I’m Jang Suwon, sorry about before, I was at fault too.” He extends his hand for a shake.  
The man looks surprised, “I’m Kim Jaeduck. Yeah, me too. Sorry about running into you and hence, the tragedy with your sweater. And sorry I blew you off in the middle of that, I was… I, I am late! Oh shoot!” Jaeduck finally notices that he’s running out of time now.  
“Listen, I’m sorry about your sweater, please contact me later okay for compensation. You can call the number on that shirt and ask for me. Really sorry I got to go!” Jaeduck then instantly runs off to the studio, mumbling and cursing the whole time, wary of facing Jiwon’s wrath.  
Suwon was taken aback that he did not manage to say it’s okay, Jaeduck doesn’t have to pay him anything. He watches Jaeduck’s figure disappears, then tugs at the hem of the shirt he’s wearing to see the contact number mentioned.

_For booking, contact *******-*****_

Maybe he’ll call, maybe he won’t.  
Suwon then gathers his thoughts and focuses back on his objective. To get to the meeting point. Some explanation might be needed on why he’s wearing that t-shirt, but putting that aside, all he could think of now is the way his heart swells with joy of meeting her.

*********************************************************************************************************  
She hasn’t changed at all. Still her same warm self, love pouring out of her eyes, the same soothing yet strong tone of voice. If he has to point out one thing that did change, it’s that she has gotten even more beautiful.  
“Suwon, thanks for coming. I missed you so much!” Suwon’s breath was taken away, overwhelmed that he’s finally able to rest his eyes on her.  
They were friends from middle school, growing close in their high school years. After the big exam, she pursued her studies oversea for 5 years. She did not return back to the country immediately, travelling the world to volunteer in places that need her, saying that would be her only chance to do that before joining the workforce.  
She eyed him from head to toe, leaving Suwon feeling shy.  
“You look so grown-up now,” she giggled, her eyes crinkled, “but I see your heart is still the same,” she lightly tapped the shirt he was wearing.  
Suwon’s face grew red as he vehemently try to explain, “Ah, no, something happened on my way here... I...” He quit explaining seeing her broke into fits of laughter, deciding to just take it in fully, and realised just how much did he really missed her.  
After catching up on things, on life (but regrettably not on his feelings) they took a pause to let it all settle in.  
All of a sudden, she started to look unsure, fiddling with her bracelets and cuffs, as if she’s about to let him in a secret.  
“Suwon, the reason I’m meeting you today, other than for catching up, I… wanted to tell you something.” She cleared her throat before continuing, “You’re the first person I’m telling after my parents.”  
Suwon grew wary, tugging at his shirt’s collar.  
“Hey, what’s up, you’re making me nervous. You know you could tell me anything, right?”  
She looked at him briefly, then took out a small box from her handbag, placing it on the table.  
Suwon felt a knot in the pit of his stomach. He gazed at her face, ask if he’s nudging her for an explanation.  
She slowly opened the box, revealing a ring with a simple cut diamond on it, smiling the way he’d never saw her did before.  
“I’m, getting married.” She said shyly.  
So many emotions passed by Suwon at that brief moment. All the while, he struggled so much to not let it showed on his face.  
“Wha… really? Wow, congrats! Who’s the lucky guy?” He said that enthusiastically, sounding so genuine that he could even fooled himself.  
Her face lighted up seeing his reaction.  
“It’s a guy I met in Cambodia 3 years back. He was on the same project as I. We spent 3 months there, and then I met him again in Nepal. And since our circle of friends are the same, we keep meeting each other and… feelings developed.” She reminisced fondly.  
Suwin felt a lump in the back of his throat, “He sounds like a great guy. I’m happy for you, I really am, Yangim.”  
She’s glowing so much with happiness and expressed her gratitude, “Thank you, Suwon, I really appreciate that” hugging him and Suwon hugged her back.

*********************************************************************************************************  
Suwon lays on his bed, still reeling from the shock of the meeting that morning. He feels betrayed, bitter, disappointed…… heartbroken.  
Did she ever thought of him at something more than a friend? Was he the only one pining for her all this time?  
He starts to analyse and overthinks, should he had confessed to her earlier? Should he tell her now? Maybe then it will all turn out like the usual drama, she’ll drop the whole thing, figuring out that she loves him too.  
“What the heck am I thinking, let’s get real, Suwon. Just grow up.” He said it out loudly.  
He lays there motionless, minutes passing by.  
His phone vibrates, a message from his colleague, inviting him for a night out with potential clients.  
After reading that, he’s prompted to open Instagram, searching for ‘ _yangimhur_ ’ account.  
Her bio reads “ _Living through giving_ ”  
That really defines her. A generous being filled with so much love and compassion.  
Suwon scrolls down her feed, but there are not much since she’s really the type that spends too much time online. Just pictures of the places she visited, some inspiring quotes, and rarely pictures of herself with the people she helped and worked with.  
Since there’s not much to work on, he then starts to search for her tagged pictures. After scrolling through some time, he found a candid group picture, of her and a guy gazing at each other, in the midst of everyone else busily moving. He’s got a hunch about that. After some more time stalking sleuthing, he finally found a picture tagging everyone’s account, and impatiently clicked on the tall guy’s username.  
‘ _ecojiyong_ ’  
His feed is ~~boring~~ like Yangim’s, not much selfies, but pictures of their wells-digging and school buildings, and some quotes on saving the environment and conserving energy.  
“Hah, hence the name _ecojiyong_!” Suwon snorts, half sarcastic, half amused.  
But one particular post of him dated about 3 months ago intrigued him.  
A picturesque landscape with the caption, ‘ _Be the change you want to see in the world they say, but it is hard in reality. Finding the right person that wants to be the change alongside you, makes the journey a bit easier and a lot more enjoyable. Thanks heaven for this gift_.💕’  
The comments were filled with questions, but he just answered them with smile emoticons.  
Going back to Yangim’s account, Suwon scrolls to find her post on the same date.

A picture of the same landscape, but different angle.  
‘ _Together we could strive for a difference_ ’  
Suwon’s heart sank at the realisation.  
Tears are welling up in his eyes, but as they are about to burst, his phone vibrates again, demanding his attention.

_SH: We’re going out tonight with the clients, I’ve confirmed with the boss you’re coming too!_

Suwon chokes back his tears, inhales deeply, and fully determines to focus his mind on work, not ready to wallow in the sadness. He rises up to his wardrobe, picking out clothes to wear for the casual night out but still work-related, as his vision trails to the black t-shirt laying on the floor. He makes a mental note to wash it later and then contact the number on it for a return address.

*********************************************************************************************************  
Suwon arrives at the fancy beachfront hotel. The open lounge is crowded with young and old. Apparently, there’s some concert going on. He doesn’t really pay attention to the surroundings, only going straight to the meeting place.  
“Suwon-ah, here!” He heard a familiar voice calling for him.  
He turns around to find someone he was not expecting, “Tony-hyungnim, why are you here? Where’s Sehyung?”  
Tony is the CEO of the company he’s working in, so imagine his surprise to see him there.  
“He’s got a family emergency, his brother is involved in an accident, luckily it was nothing serious, but I told him to go and check up on him.” Tony explained calmly.  
“Ah, okay, so, where’s the client we’re meeting?” Suwon asked. He’s actually kind of in an awkward relationship with the older guy. Tony is a nice guy and all, but still, there is still that gap between the staff and the CEO.

_Background of the company: It’s a new advertisement company. After years of working in a large corporation as the director, Tony Ahn stepped down and opened up his own company._

The discussion goes on smoothly, amidst the festivity. The clients insisted on them meeting there as they aim to get inspired from the event for their brands or something like that. Frankly, Suwon thinks they just wanted to have a good time there, and why not do it on the company expenses. After finishing everything and setting up their next meeting date, the group parted ways.  
Tony sips his drinks while Suwon fixes his gaze on the group of people playing by the beach. Both of them just sit there, the awkward ambience drowned in the loud rock music coming from the stage.  
“Are you okay? You look different.” Tony asked carefully.  
Suwon turns to him with a puzzled look, “Huh? Maybe cos I’m not in my formal attire hehe.”  
“No, you…,” Tony pauses, “look sad.”  
Suwon is taken aback by that. He thought that he hid the sadness in his heart well enough, maybe Tony is just that good at noticing.  
Suwon looks at Tony, smiling weakly.  
“I’m going for a short walk before going back. Our business is done here right?”  
Tony wonders if he overstepped by saying that. He briefly nods and continues to drink while scrolling through the meeting notes on his phone.  
Suwon walks aimlessly into the crowd as the music changes.  
“Everyone, the next song is not the usual type of song we’d play, but since someone requested this, here we go, _Love is the End_!”

The hustle and bustle of the scene goes momentarily quiet as the ethereal sound starts to fill up the air. Suwon wonders closer to the stage unconsciously, compelled by that sound. He soon sees a wavy-haired, muscular man in a tank top drawing a bow across… a literal hand saw, producing that unique melody.  
Cue the spiky black-haired singer’s deep, brittly voice, repressing himself just enough so the desperation and sadness are relayed, that Suwon finds that tears are welled up in his eyes. Just as he got close to the side of the stage, the song picks up with strums of the guitar. He looks up to find the guitar player familiar, upon further observation and recognises him from this morning. The guy who crashed into him. ‘What’s his name, Kim Jaeduck?’

He looks somewhat different, exuding a special aura with his raven hair in contrast with his pale skin, kohl-lined eyes looking intense and deft fingers across the strings.  
The string up lights over the stage bathe him in yellow light, that his eyelashes cast shadows against his cheeks as he tilts down to play.

At that moment, Jaeduck glances up and catches Suwon staring. He grins at Suwon who got flustered being caught gawking. The song continues to play.

*********************************************************************************************************

After the performance is done and the audience gave them a big cheer, Jaeduck walks off the stage to find Suwon.  
“Hi, didn’t expect to find you here tonight!” said Jaeduck.  
“I was here for work. So, this is _Silverkey_. You guys are good!”  
“Really, you think so? Thank you” Jaeduck beams up at the praise as he run his fingers over his damped hair. “This is our first major gig, Jiwon-hyung worked hard for this.”  
Just as Suwon about to ask, he sees the lead singer approaching them.  
“Duk-ah, let’s meet up with the manager! Oh, who’s this guy?” The guy with dark eyes scans Suwon from head to toe with caution.  
“It’s the sweater guy I told you about, Jiwon-hyung,” Jaeduck mumbles.  
Suwon gives Jaeduck a dirty look.  
“Oh, sweater guy huh, well, I guess I’ll apologise again on the behalf of my Jaeduck, he’s really a troublesome guy at times,” Jiwon puts his hand across Jaeduck’s shoulders, patting his hair, almost as if he’s asserting his dominance.  
“What, nooo! It was totally an accident, don’t make it sound like I have bad luck or anything” Jaeduck pushes Jiwon’s hand off his hair and whines.  
“Ehem, about that shirt,” Suwon clears his throat to cut in, “I’ll return it to you later, can you give me an address or something?”  
“Jiwon-hyung, Jaeduck, let’s go meet the manager now!” Another guy called for both of them right at that time.  
“Ah, I left my bag at the back, let me pick that up and we’ll meet backstage later ok? And hyung, can you please give Suwon our card? I don’t have it with me.”  
Jiwon grumbles, “Yeah sure, but do it fast! We don’t want the manager to wait.”  
“Suwon, sorry for the rush, but I hope to meet you again to properly apologise and compensate you. Bye!” Jaeduck dashes off, with both Jiwon and Suwon looking at his disappearing figure.  
The two men stare at each other in an awkward silence.  
“Here’s our card, you can just post the shirt and send us a bill for your sweater, no need to hassle yourself if you can’t come,” Jiwon (sort of) shoves the card into Suwon’s hand. He said that with a faint smile, then he walked away too, leaving Suwon puzzled by the animosity.

*********************************************************************************************************  
Suwon gets a tap on his shoulders.  
“Suwon, you left your phone,” Tony looks a bit dishevelled, he was probably searching for Suwon in the crowd from before.  
“Ah, I’m sorry, must be hard to find me here,” Suwon apologises profusely to his boss.  
“Haha, it’s okay Suwon, it happens.” Suwon is relieved to see Tony laughing at him.  
“By the way, who are those guys you were talking to?”  
“Oh, someone I met this morning. They are the band playing tonight too. I borrowed something from Jaeduck, one of the guys that I should return.” Suwon answers truthfully.  
“I see, well, hope everything’s alright then. I’m heading back to the office now. Goodnight Suwon,” Tony waves at Suwon and steps away before turning back, “you can call me anytime if you want to talk to someone. Just know that.” He smiles warmly and walks away.  
Suwon chokes up at that and hides himself in a corner where hopefully no one could see him.

*********************************************************************************************************  
Suwon wakes up from the short nap feeling refreshed, finally getting the rest he needed. He had been working non-stop for the last 3 days on a proposal. Since the team managed to finish and send it within such a short period, the boss (Tony) gave them an extra day off before the weekend. Suwon took the opportunity to catch up on sleep and doing his house chores.  
He stands up and walk over to the balcony, gathering the dried clothes from the rack. His hand lingers for a while at the black t-shirt.  
“I could just drop by at the studio on my way to eat brunch,” he says that to himself.

After a quick shower, he dresses up in a casual collared t-shirt, with a pair of khaki and a ball cap. He inputs the address in his phone, then drives to the location. Passing by a familiar location, he thinks to himself, “This is where I met that guy and got stripped off. I’m just thankful to the internet gods that there are no video of that going online, yet.”

He parks his car as he got closer and tries to find the place on foot. He examines the area but there’s no studio-looking building around. He searches in the narrow streets until he stumbles upon a big signboard written with ` _Silverkey: Coffee and Cakes_ `

‘A… cafe?’ Not what he expected but he goes inside to confirm.  
“Welcome~” The owner of the voice, a guy shorter than him turns around and Suwon witnesses the change in his expression in seconds, from warm to looking surprised then excited.  
“Ah, hi, Suwon-ssi! Glad you finally made it to our cafe~”  
Suwon is taken aback. Jaeduck is showing him another different side of him than their first two meetings.  
This time, his hair is flat and neatly parted, and he’s wearing a pair of round glasses, with the barista apron tied on his waist. He’s looking extra boyish in that getup.

“H..hi, Jaeduck-ssi. Nice to meet you again, and… this really is a cafe?” He blurts out the question.  
Jaeduck’s face is puzzled by that before a sudden realization hits him.  
“Ah, yes, you met us as Silverkey the band. But that’s our night job hehe. We’re running a cafe business, well actually, we started as group of friends playing in the band, but then, we decided to create a space for us to play too and that’s how this cafe is created. Though we’re only playing on Friday nights.” Jaeduck goes on explaining until he notices Suwon’s weird smile.  
“I’m rambling, right? Sorry, that’s a flaw of mine. Let me show you to your seat.”  
“Ah, nah, it’s okay, I’m just returning your shirt.” Suwon politely declines.  
“Nooo, please, have something to drink at least, on the house. The least I could do since you don’t want to accept any reimbursement for the sweater,” Jaeduck pleads with his eyes sparkling, rendering Suwon to accept his offer.

“Urm, any recommendations?” Asked Suwon after going through the menu.  
“The ham and chicken plate is the most popular menu but, my personal favourite is the beef set.” Jaeduck suggests, pointing at the pictures.  
“Well then, I’m putting my trust in you, the beef set, please.” Suwon smiles.  
Jaeduck beams at that and swiftly walks back to the kitchen to prepare the food.

Suwon looks around the cafe, since it’s about lunch time, more people are coming into the cafe. Suddenly, he hears a dear voice.  
“Thank you Eun Jiwon-ssi, it’s confirmed then. See you at the wedding.”  
His eyes dart to the direction of the voice. Three people are walking out of the office.  
The dark lead vocal, dressed in comfortable clothing, looking softer than that night but still has this menacing aura. Behind him, a couple, a guy in formal attire and the queen of his heart, Yangim.

Their eyes made contact at the moment and he could see how Yangim eyes twinkle upon recognizing him.  
“Suwon! You’re here!” She slightly runs to him. Suwon tries his best to manage his expression.  
“Hi, what are you doing here? What a coincidence.” Suwon says.  
The guy sidles up to them calmly.  
Suwon cranes his neck up a bit to meet his eyes. The guy who he only saw pictures of.  
‘Damn it, he looks even better in real life, and he’s tall too’ he curses in his mind.  
“Finally, I could introduce you to my fiance, Ko Jiyong.”  
The word fiance is like a sword piercing through his heart.  
They both shake hands.  
“First time meeting you, Jang Suwon-ssi. But I’ve heard so much about you from Yangim. I’m glad we manage to meet before the wedding.” He sounds so dignified and poised in that short conversation. Suwon feels like he’s too shabby to even compare.

Apparently, both of them were looking for doorgifts and the cafe was introduced by a mutual friend. A percentage of the cafe’s earnings is donated, both of them are enthusiastic to work with it hence the deal is done.

“I’ve been trying to meet with you the whole week, but you were too busy. Are you okay? I hope the work is not too hard on you,” Yangim asks Suwon with concern.  
“I’m really sorry for that, we’ve been working around the clock so I really had no time to spare, but luckily the proposal is finished yesterday, so my boss gave us some time off.” Suwon replies.

“I actually want to ask for your help at the wedding, but if you’re too busy…”  
“No, I’ll do it. You know I’d do anything for you.” Suwon cuts her off.  
Yangim’s face brightens up.  
“This is unconventional, usually the bride would have bridesmaids, but, you’re my best friend and I want you close to me on that special day. So, Jang Suwon, would you be my maid, no, my man of honour?”  
Suwon is surprised to hear that, and he guesses it shows.  
Sensing Yangim is growing worried, he braces himself, put on the warmest smile he could wear and says, “Yes, Hur Yangim, I do.”  
Yangim jumps out of her chair and lunges at Suwon for a hug. Suwon feels joy at that moment, seeing her so happy over him saying yes.  
Jiyong who’s sitting next to Yangim watches the exchange in silence, but with a serene look. He must have known how much this means to his bride and he’d do anything to make her happy.

*********************************************************************************************************  
“Jaeduck-ah, what are you looking at? The customers at Table 2 are waiting for their orders!” The familiar nagging voice rings in Jaeduck’s ears.  
“Ah..ah okay, hyung, I’m going~” he quickly makes his way before Jiwon continues his ‘lecture’. Jaeduck loves the guy, but his scolding could cause physical pain even for him, the one who friends say nags a lot.  
While serving the food and drinks for Table 2, Jaeduck keeps stealing glances to the table besides the window in the back part of the cafe. The guy who looks so sorrowful, as if his world just crashed down.  
Even though he barely knows the guy, Jaeduck is pretty sure of the cause.  
The lady who just left.  
Suwon was looking neutral, a little cheerful even when he walked in earlier. But after the lady and her fiance talked to him, he got into this state.

After several minutes and all the customers have been served or paid, Jaeduck is determined to do something.  
He briskly walks around the kitchen, ignoring Jiwon who is shooting him annoyed looks as he could barely concentrate on his mobile game. After getting all the ingredients, Jaeduck puts them in the blender with ice, and letting it roar for a few seconds. As he’s putting the newly concocted drink in a cup, he notices Suwon is packing up his stuffs, getting ready to leave.  
Jaeduck hurriedly runs to him with the drink in hand.  
“Suwon-ssi, here’s your frappuccino!” said Jaeduck in a high tone.  
Suwon is looking puzzled, “I didn’t order this?”  
“It’s from me, just something sweet to cheer you up,” he’s putting the cup into Suwon’s hand, subtly forcing him to take it.  
Suwon looks down at the drink, before staring into Jaeduck’s face, “Is it that obvious?” He lets out a weak chuckle.  
“I hope at least I kept a poker face in front of them”, he sighs, while at the same time, Jaeduck pulls a chair besides him.  
“From my observation, you acted well as the happy friend.” Jaeduck reaffirms him teasingly.  
“Were you eavesdropping?” Suwon glares at Jaeduck, but it is done in jest.  
Jaeduck feels a bit relieved seeing Suwon is able to joke like that.  
“I’m sorry, a drama was happening in my cafe and I can’t look away~” Jaeduck freezes for a moment as he fears he crossed the line. “I mean, I was nearby at that time and, I know that look.”  
Suwon looks at him with curious eyes.  
“It’s the same look I saw in the mirror some time ago,” Jaeduck says with a sad smile.  
“Not sure if you mean the look of someone getting friendzoned,” quipped Suwon.  
“Well, I got it worse then, I got brozoned hahaha,” though it was said lightheartedly, Jaeduck can’t help but feel a pang in his heart.  
Suwon’s eyes widen for a while before getting back his composure.  
“Oh…”  
“Hahaha it’s okay. I’ve gotten over it. But I still have to face him everyday.” He makes a gesture to the counter.  
Suwon’s eyes widen for a second time.  
“That dev… guy?? For real? What would someone like you sees in him?” Suwon asks before he’s able to stop himself.  
Jaeduck gets surprised at that, ‘Someone like me?’  
“Hey, he’s a good guy once you get to know him, it’s just his way of showing affection, tough love. Anyway, point is, I know how it feels like to pine over someone who couldn’t see you as someone they could love, and more so, someone who has someone else in their heart.”  
The table grows silent.  
“I never realize when I fell for her. All I know is, one day I woke up thinking, it’s a chance in a lifetime for me to meet someone who’s this pure and lovable and I want to spend my lifetime with her. But, I guess, that chance is gone now.” Suwon opens up.  
“Hey, I don’t really know you, but I’m sure you’re a good person too. And, I can’t say you’ll meet someone equal or better than her, but all I know is, the pain will lessen. This is meant for myself, but maybe us one-sided lover could focus on being happy seeing the people we love be happy, and be grateful that we managed to at least be a part of their life.” His voice trembles at the end of his sentence, alerting Suwon who was looking down the whole time.

Suwon was about to say something when his phone vibrates. He takes a quick glance then looks up to Jaeduck who is already standing up, ready to get back to his post.  
“Hey, Jaeduck-ssi,” he grabs his wrist, “thank you.”  
Jaeduck blushes for a while before managing to answer him, “Your welcome. I’m sorry that I was being nosy, but really, I don’t mind to have another chat with you about anything.”  
Suwon flashes a smile, showing off his dimple, “I might take you up on that offer.”  
Before Jaeduck could say anything else, Suwon ushers him to go, “Your devil hyung is calling. He’s been glaring at us forever, I don’t want to keep you any longer.”  
At that, Jaeduck gets flustered, but manages to send Suwon off with a cheerful bye.

Suwon walks out of the cafe, with his clutch in one hand, and the drink in the other. He takes a sip of the frappuccino.  
“It’s sweet,” he says absentmindedly, with his heart feeling lighter than before.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Written first on discord with help from @WyrdSister  
> And yes, I copied the first part from A Gentleman's Dignity lol


End file.
